So about a month ago, I purchased my first growler from Downtown Brewery in San Luis Obispo, CA. They filled it for me and said that they, and other brewpubs would gladly refill them for a fee. I paid $18 for a full growler.

I went to El Toro Brewery in Morgan Hill, CA and was told that it was against California law for them to fill a growler unless it had their name on it. Has anyone else heard of anything like this, or were they just trying to get me to buy one of theirs?

A FEW GROWLER FILL GUIDELINES:
• You are in charge of bringing in your growler in a clean state worthy of holding great craft beer.
• State law prohibits us from filling growlers from other breweries, or with beer that is inconsistent with the growler's label.
• If you have an OAKED Arrogant Bastard Ale, Double Bastard Ale or Arrogant Bastard Ale 3 Litre growler, it can only be filled with the beer that is on the label. Again, this is state law.

If that's the law, then that's just silly.
At the brewpub I work for in Oregon we will fill anything that will hold beer: growlers, mason jars, thermoses, etc.
I've heard that Deschutes will only fill Deschutes Growlers, but that's all part of a pretty sweet deal they have: pay 26 bucks for a growler and get it filled for only 6 bucks for life.

That all said, when I was in college I'd go to Ithaca brewery and get a growler filled for 6.40 and often 3.20 if it was a seasonal that they were trying to get rid of.

I work in a FDA regulated environment and labeling is ALWAYS critical. The issue here is not that the brewery is trying to gouge anyone. It has to do with an apparently commercial product with a decidedly different product contained within. It is illegal for restaurants to fill a Heinz ketchup bottle with a different brand. It is illegal for a bar to dispense Bud from a tap with a Miller tap handle. etcetera for any imaginable similar situation.

On the other hand it is legal for a restaurant to fill a non-labeled ketchup container with any brand that it chooses. etc. See, it is all about mislabeling. This is a cover all measure to protect the public. A company could be sued for huge damages if a problem ever arose from selling their product in a vessel with a different label.